


Encounter in the Hills

by Merfilly



Category: Forever Knight
Genre: First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 23:38:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7865914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Stonetree is determined to get to the bottom of who is camping in the hills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Encounter in the Hills

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WaltD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaltD/gifts).



There were a lot of things Joe Stonetree was, but a coward had never been one of those things. It didn't matter what the other boys thought; that wasn't why he was doing this. Let them laugh and try to build each other up; he was going to find out what was going on and who kept lighting a fire up in the hills.

They'd seen the light every night that it hadn't rained for a week now. It wouldn't be much to hike up there, even if the people who had gone by day had only ever found the carefully doused remains of a camp. No one really had time to spare to track each camp to the next logical site… yet Joe was certain he could do it, and solve the mystery.

It was the wrong season for tourists. Might be a hippie trying to get in touch with nature, but why would they be gone by day? Joe had to know, wanted to be sure it wasn't a threat to his people.

Settling a pack with enough to get by for a few days, Joe headed up into the hills, ready to find the source of the mystery.

`~`~`~`~`

Nick still wasn't certain what had dragged him to the wilder parts of Canada, why he was avoiding humanity so fully by escaping to nature. Certainly, it had been a rough few decades, but it was not the best survival guide in his books. Even memorizing where the nearest towns were, knowing how quickly he could get to them if he needed to, wasn't actually smart. If any of his enemies caught up with him out here…

… if Lacroix came looking for him…

He shoved those thoughts as far away as he possibly could. He needed the clear air, the open skies with their blazing stars. He was seeking, again, some meaning to what he was doing. If he hated his existence so much, why did he fight to survive? Was it merely a need to atone? Was it to spite Lacroix, to make something of himself that was less the monster that his vampiric father had created?

What would Janette think of this existence now?

"She'd be laughing at you on the inside, and making appalled faces, while mocking you non-stop," he said aloud to that last thought. He then sighed. "And now, Nick, you're talking to yourself."

`~`~`~`~`

No vehicle tracks that Joe could find meant that the person he was tracking had to be staying in the hills. However, Joe wasn't finding much in the way of marks of passage there. He'd scouted the most recent site, found the remains of a campfire that had been very carefully tended and then doused with dirt and broken up before the stranger moved on.

Who was this person that they moved like a spirit, leaving nothing but the fires? With care to his own passage, trying to make as little impact as possible, Joe moved to find his own camp, on a vantage point, so that he could find the next campfire the stranger made. He'd do without one, even with the nights so cold, to better be able to observe.

`~`~`~`~`

Nick could feel eyes on him. It was an itch at the back of his neck as he emerged from a shallow cave, more a burrow in the side of the hill that afforded him complete protection from the day's sunlight. He knew sleeping wild was dangerous, but had hoped the remote location would be enough protection.

Aware of being watched, he set about his usual evening routine, of setting a fire to warm himself and contemplate what his next step in life should be. He was not, and had firmly accepted the fact that he was not, bent on self-destruction. His chosen path of redemption, of utilizing what he had been made into, was the road he wished to remain on. If that meant breaking into blood-banks for the rest of his life, then so be it. He would not be a danger to humanity, only champion their causes.

That meant discerning what the watcher wished, and eliminating the threat, if it was one of his own kind. He settled back against a tree, staring into the fire, but letting his hearing and sense of smell reach out to determine if he could find the being responsible. A little quiet observation might be all he needed to keep from causing any strife.

`~`~`~`~`

Joe saw the fire go up, saw that it was just one man, and wondered. Was it just some hippie trying to get in touch with nature? He didn't have a pack, didn't pull a sleeping bag out, and had come out of the side of the hill when it got dark. While there were numerous shallow caves in the area, none of them were proper shelter from much at all. Why did he come out at night? Why did he move around so frequently? 

His curiosity was getting the better of him, even as caution indicated he should treat the person as dangerous, possibly on the run from law enforcement agencies. That would explain keeping such a low profile during the day, when people might actually be out hiking or hunting.

He wanted to know, so he could better warn his people. With a mind to keeping his movement as quiet as possible and low visibility, Joe started moving to get a better vantage point.

`~`~`~`~`

Patience was indeed a virtue. The watcher above him had started moving stealthily. As all of Nick's senses worked on discerning the nature of the watcher, he became convinced it was a human, and he settled his nerves somewhat. He considered his options and chose to stay just as he was. If the human was a criminal hiding in these lands, Nick would deal with him. If not, then perhaps he would have conversation for a while.

Either way, it was a break from the monotony of thoughts in his own head.

Boredom, Nick thought, was possibly one reason so many of his kind slid so far into psychopathy. Then again, there were others, who merely allowed the boredom to take them out into the sun. He wasn't certain what that said for the ability to choose a destiny for oneself. Surely he could not have been the only monster to turn his back on preying on the innocent?

`~`~`~`~`

Joe moved to where he could see past the fire, committing the stranger's appearance to memory. He'd make the trek into town and see what he could learn, if that was what it took to protect his family and people.

"You could come join me," the stranger said into the night, spooking Joe a little, because no one should have been able to hear or see him. He knew how good he was at the old skills!

However, remaining in the dark might prompt violence, and Joe preferred a stand-up fight if it came to it. He carried a lot of muscle, even at his age, and had lived hard most of his life. 

"We don't get a lot of campers up here with no gear, mister," Joe said as he stepped out of the woods, watching carefully.

The stranger gave a shrug, making no move to stand or get to a more defensible position. "I've been restless in the city, and I find it clears the mind to get away from it for a time."

"How do I know it's not so you can lie low?" Joe asked warily.

"How do I know you're not going to attack me? We don't. It's a decision to weigh both our presences here, our actions, and decide if there is enough to trust sharing a fire."

Joe weighed that, then came and sat down near the fire, getting a good look at the man. The stranger's eyes weighed him as openly, before focusing upward, to see the stars that were visible.

"You're out here trying to protect your people, aren't you? I've heard other trackers, but none ever come at night," the man volunteered.

"Maybe I am. Kind of curious, you not being out and about where they might have seen you."

The stranger gave a half-smile. "Allergy to the sun; I burn very easily. I try not to let it get in my way of doing what I need to."

Joe had never heard of anyone being that sensitive, but the man said it so easily, with a hint of chagrin. Joe found himself wanting to trust this man that had made no mark on their lands that wouldn't heal. It was rare enough to find such a man.

"I'll be moving on, in a few days, if it sets your mind at rest," the stranger said.

"It does," Joe said. "Aside from being mysterious, I can't see you've done any harm, though," he admitted.

"Harm is the last thing I wish to bring." The man looked over at Joe, and it was almost as if he could see to his soul, like some kind of ancient spirit. "I think you and I have that in common. A desire to protect those we care for, maybe reach out and help other innocents that may never know we touched their lives."

Joe snorted, shaking his head. "I just do my duty."

"Then keep your heart strong, and follow it, so that other strangers may benefit." 

Joe didn't press for what that might mean, but the words stayed with him, long after he decided to trek down and back, confident the man truly meant no harm.

`~`~`~`~`

The new cop was familiar, something dredging up memories, but Stonetree felt like he'd seen a million faces at this point in his life.

"Captain, sir, I really do mean it, about the night-shift thing," Knight said. "My allergy is really that severe."

"Allergy?" Stonetree flipped back to the medical page in the file, and noted the allergy to the sun.

He managed, somehow, to keep the shiver out of his spine, and casually looked at the man in front of him.

"Well, Detective Knight, just be good at wrapping your cases up before the sun rises," he said easily enough, as the memory fell into place.

Ancient spirits, indeed.


End file.
